Internal-combustion engine.



G. WBIGR l.

[NTERNAL COMBUSTION EWINF. APPLICATION YILED 0m 7 mo,

Patented Sept. 1. 1914.

3 SHRETS SHEET 1.

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5M5/ME m a p Inventor: r-O0 Pi GI bert. Wright,

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G. WRIGHT. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT 7k 191% 1 ,1 09,1 92, Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

3 SHEETSW$HEIET 2.

Witnesses: Inventor:

Ewe 9 4 4 Gi l ber'L W1-i g ht,

I Hisflttorneg.

OOOOO Patented Sept. 1. 1914.

3 SHEETS SHEET 3.

Gilbjz/wright Inventor:

I Hisflttorney.

G. WRIGHT. [NTERNAL COMBUSUON ENGINE APPLICATION FILED our 7 101m 0 K wwWitnesses:

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I To all whom it may concern Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GILBERT WRIGHT, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL COMPANY, ACORPORATION; 913' NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC Specification of Letters Patent.

- Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

Application filed October 7, 1910. -Seria.l No. 585,739.

Be it known that I, GILBERT WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States,residing at of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to gasolene engines of the twocycle type, and itsobject is to provide a, small, simple, reliable motor for driving adirect-connected electric generator of small capacity.

The machine has been especially designed to furnish current for thelamps of an automobile, though it is of course capable of use whenever'a small, low voltage current is needed. The engine has but a singlepower cylinder, and the charge is compressed for charging by an annularpiston working in an annular cylinder concentric with the powercylinder.

* There are various novel features'relating 'to the carbureter,governor, and the like,

which will appear more fully in the following detailed description,taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which 1 Figure 1is a side'elevation of the machine, Fig. 2 is a, longitudinal section ofthe same, on a larger scale; Fig. 3 is apross section. through theengine cylinder; Fig. 4 is a. transverse section of the carbureter;

. 5 is a. cross section of the'governor and circuit breakergrand Fig. 6is a diagram of the electric circuits of an automobile eqgilpped withthis invention.

e casing of the engine is cast in several par'ts which are fastenedtogether by hinggfbolts so as to be readily separable.

Thus thepngine cylinder 1 with its water {acket 2 'and the inner shell 3of the annuar charging cylinder are all in one casting, secured by twohinge bolts 4, on .opposite sides, to the top of the outer shell 5 ofthe charging cylinder, which is integral with the upper half Got thecrank case. Hinge bolts-7 on opposite sides secure said upper half-tothe lower half 8 of said crank case, while hinge bolts 9 on each sideconnect the crank case to the end {Shield 10 of the box-like frame 11 ofthe generator. On the other 'end shield 12 of said frame is a squarehollow extension or casing 13 on which is supported the spark coil 14.All

the nuts 15 of the hinge bolts are checked -by springs 16 abuttingbetween said nuts and washers 17 riveted to the ends of said bolts,making it impossiblefor said nuts to shake loose. I

The crank case extends beyond the cylinder shell 5 to give. room for thebearings 18 for the shaft 19. These are preferably ball bearin s, asshown, the outer ball rac' 20 being 0 amped between ribs 21 on thehalves of the crank case. The shaft has three cranks, the middle one,22, being con nected by the pivoted rod 24 to the power ones, 26, areset 180 degrees from the middle one and are connected by short pivotedring, piston 28, which has a packed fit between the concentricshells 3and 5.

,At one side of the cylinder 'is a chamber 29 into which the charge iscompressed by the annular piston 28. One or more admission por'ts-3Oconnect this chamber; with the cylinder,- said ports being uncoveredwhen the power piston is at the lower end of its stroke and the annularcompressing piston is at the upper endof its stroke. The exhaust ports31 are opposite the admission ports and communicate with the exhaustpipe 32. The exhaust ports are, as usual, uncovered when the pistonreaches the end of its out stroke. A bafile plate or deflector 33 on thepiston 25 deflects the entering charge away from said exhaust ports. Thepiston 25 is of the trunk type and-has ports 34 of large size whichregister with the ports and soconnect the interior of the crank casewith the chamber 29 when the power piston is at the upper end of itsstroke, so that the mixturein the crank case can enter said chamber, inwhich aslight vacuum hasbeen created by the downward movement of theannular piston 28.

The mixture enters the crank case through the overhung end of the crankshaft on which the rotor 35'of the gener ator is mounted; this portionof said shaft being. tubular. The rotor serves as a flywheel for theengine. '36 are formed in the cranks 26 extending obliquely outward, sothat centrifugal force tends to throw the mixture out into the crankcase, where it is still further intermingled by the churning action ofthe cranks and connecting rods.

piston 25 in the .cylinder 1, while the outea; v

rods 27 with the annular charge transferas j Delivery passages Thecarbureter is secured to the'under side 13 by a bottom plate 44. At thecenter of said plate is a screw-threaded hub 45 which screws into atubular lug 46 depending from said extension 13. In said lug is aV-shaped passage 47 conununicating at one end with the interior of thegenerator frame, into whi'ch air can enter'freel'y through holes 48 inthe end shield 10. The other end of the passage 47 opens into a circularremovable door 49 which closes the end of the extension Y13 and has aradial passage provided with an opening 50 in line with the bore of theshaft. A duct 51 leads from, the float chamber up'through the hub 45 tothe pas sage 47, being controlled by a needle valve 52 which can beadjusted by means of the handle 53. i

y A circular casing 54 is'secured upon and concentric with the end ofthe shaft 19. In the center of the end of this casing is a port 55 inline with the opening 50. A gasket 56 concentric with the opening andthe port .is interposed between the casing and the door 49 to make agas-tight joint; Inside of the casin there is, preferably "an automaticthrottle valve or governor controlling the Eflow of mixture into thehollqw shaft 1.9. Fig. 5 shows such a valve, consisting of two shutters57 pivoted to the casing at 58 and adapted to close over the port-55.Integral witheach shutter 'is'a weighted arm 59. A spring 60 connectssaid arms and tends to separate the shutters and' open the port. Whenthe engin r1'1nning,'. centrifugal force tends 'to throw the weightedarms outwardly and close the shutters gradually until a uniform speed isattained. The spring can be attached to the arms at several differentpoints in order to adjust the speed at which the throttling action takesplace. i

The starting crank61 is arranged in the end of the crank case. It ispreferably cons nected with the clutch by multiplying gearing, The spurIgear 62, in'whose hub. the crank is secured; meshes with-a-pinion 63attached to a gearf'64 which meshes with pinion 65 turning loosely onthe crank and carrying one half 66 of the clutch; the other half 67thereof being secured to the engine shaft. A spring 68 keeps the clutchdisengaged except at starting. The pinion ,63 and gear 64 are journaledon astud (39 in a holow leg 70 extending down from the crank. case tosupport the machine at that end. the

frame 11 of the generator supporting the other end. The pinions havelong teeth to permit a sliding action whenthe crank is pushed in to"cause the halves of the clutch toengage.

The generator is preferably compound Wound, having a series coil 71and ashunt coil 72. The current is utilized to light lamps, which may bethose of an automobile. Fig. 6 shows side lamps 73, headlamps 74, 7 5, adashboard lamp 76 and a tail lamp 77,; the last two being preferablyinvseries so that the dash lamp serves as a tell-tale for the tail lamp.-A shunt circuit 78 supplies current to the primary windin 79 of thespark coil 14. The shunt is preferably controlled by 'the switch whichcontrols the lamps 76 and 77. The circuit breaker for this circuit isshown in Fig. 5 and comprises a spring lever 80 pivoted at 81 andcarrying one of two contacts 82 controlling the circuit 78. A spring 83.biases these contacts apart, but they are closed at each revolution ofthe engine by a'cam 84 on the casing 54. The secondary winding 85' ofthe s ark coil is connected as usual to the sparkjp ug 86.

. In operation each down stroke of the an- I nular piston 28 produces apartialvacuum above it in the chamber 29; but when the piston .28arrives at the lower end of its stroke and the powerpiston 25 is at theupper end of its stroke, and the charge in the cylinder 1 is compressedready for igni: tion, the ports 34 re ister with the ports 30 so that acharge of the mixture can flow from the crank case into the annularcharging cylinder. This action also sucks a further supplyof mixturethrough the tubular shaft 19 from the carburetor. As the, power piston25 moves downward by the ex-' pansion of the ignited charge in thecylindcr l, the fresh charge in the ahnular charging' cylinder iscompressed by the upward stroke of the piston 28; VVhen the pistons havereached the limits of their strokes, the charge is forced into the powercylinder 1, where it strikes the deflector 33 on the head of the powerpiston and flows upward, driving the burned gases out of the exhaustports 3.1, which have been uncovered slightlybefore the inlet ports 30to reduce the pressure and consequent temperature of the burned gasesbefore admitting "the fresh charge. The next stroke of the pistonscompresses the charge in the power cylinder; and at the proper instantthe cam 84 closes andopens the contacts 82 and the charge is ignited;Owing to the cxactbalance of the, reciprocating p arts, this enginecan-be'runiat high speed. It is designed to furnish a current of ten"amperes at a pressure of six volts wheh running at 1500 revolutions'perminute. If tungsten lamps are used,+this f it is ample for lighting anautomobile. accordance with the patent statute it A 521 passage'in theshaft should be understood that I do not limit my invention to theparticular mechanism illustrated and described, since variousmodifications thereof will suggest themselves to those skilled in theart without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope ofwhich is set forth in the annexed claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is-

1. An internal combustion engine having a power cylinder, an annularcharging cylinder concentric therewith, pistons for the cylinders, acrank case, a crank shaft provided with opposed cranks therein, meansfor connecting the pistons to said cranks whereby the same move inopposite directions relatively to each other, means for supplying acharge to the crank case, means controlled by one of the pistons forsupplying a charge from the crank case to the annular cylinder, andmeans for connecting the annular cylinder with the power cylinder.

2. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a powercylinder, an annular charging cylinder concentric therewith, a tubularcrank shaft provided with 0psed cranks connected to the power piston andthe annular charging piston respectively and having passages from theinterior opening into the crank case through the cranks, means forconnecting the crank case with the charging cylinder, and a carburetercommunicating with the open end of the shaft.

3. An internal combustion engine having a casing provided with a crankcase or chamber and a second chamber adjacent to the first, a crankshaft arranged in the first chamber and having a portion extendingthrough the second chamber, a driven member carried by said portion ofthe shaft,"a carbureter mounted on the casing beyond said member and itschamber, there being leading from its outer end to the crank case, and aconnection between the carbureter and said passage.

4. An internal combustion enginehaving a casing provided with a crankcase or chamber, a second chamber adjacent to the first and supportingmembers adjacent its ends, a crank shaft supported in bearings in thewalls of the first chamber and having a portion 'extending through thesecond chamber, a driven member carried by said portion, a carburetermounted on the casing beyond said member and its chamber, there being apassage in the shaft leading from its outer end to the crank case. aconnectionbetween the carburetor and said passage, and startingmechanism mounted in the opposite end 0 the casing beyond the crankcase.

5. In an internal combustion engine, the

pistons, a carburetor,

combination of a crank case, a cylinder that opens at one end into saidcase, a trunk piston, a second cylinder concentric with the first, anannular piston arranged in the space between the two cylinder walls, acarbureter, means for supplying an explosive mixture to the crank casefrom the carbureter, a port in the wall of the first cylinder thatconnects its interior with said annular space and is uncovered by thetrunk piston near the end of its outer stroke, a port in the wall of thetrunk iston that connects the crank case with sai annular space near theend of the inner stroke of the trunk piston, cranks on the shaftarranged at an angle to each other, and connecting rods between thecranks and the pistons.

6. The combination with an internal combustion en ine having a tubularoverhung crank shat, of a driven member on the overhung portion of saidshaft, a casing arranged beyond the driven member and surrounding theend of said shaft, a V-shaped passage in the bottom of said casing, anda float reservoir secured beneath said bottom and communicating withsaid passage.

7. The combination with an internal combustion en ine having a tubularoverhung crank sha t, o a driven member on the overhung portion of saidshaft, a casing arranged beyond the driven member and surrounding theend of said shaft, a V-shaped passage in the bottom of said casing, afloat reservoir secured beneath said bottom and communicating with saidpassage, and a removable door for the end of said casing containing apassage communicating with said V-shaped passage and provided with anopening in line with said shaft.

8. The combination with an internal combustion en ine having a tubularoverhung crank shaf t, of a driven member on the overhung portion ofsaid shaft, a casing arranged beyond the driven member and surroundingthe end of said shaft, a V-sha ed passage in the bottom of said casing,a oat reservoir secured beneath said bottom and communicating with saidpassage, a removable door for the end of said casingcontaining a passagecommunicating with said V- shaped passage and provided with an openingin line with said shaft, a second casing within the first that inclosesthe end of the shaft and has a port in line with said opening, a packedjoint between said door and casing, and an automatic speed governor insaid second casing controlling said port.

9. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a tubular crankshaft, a cylinder, a trunk piston in the cylinder, a second cylinderconcentric with the first, an annular piston arranged in the spacebetween the two cylinder walls, cranks on said shaft arranged at anangle to each other, connecting rods between the cranks and the meansfor supplying an explosive mixture from the carburcter through thetubular crank shaft to the interior of the trunk connecting the interiorto the space between the combination of a tubular crank shaft, acylinder, a trunk piston in the cylinder, a second cylinder concentricwith the first, an annular piston arranged in the space be tween the twocylinder walls, cranks on said shaft arranged at an angle to each other,connecting rods between the cranks and the pistons, a carbureter, meansfor supplying an explosive mixture from the carbureter through thetubular crank shaft tothe interior of the trunk piston, a portconnecting the two cylinder spaces, and a port in the trunk piston whichregisters with the first named ort when said piston is at the inner end0 its stroke.

11. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a powercylinder, an annu lar charging cylinder concentric therewith, pistonsfor said cylinders, a tubular cranl: shaft having opposed cranksconnected to the pistons, a crank case, said cranks having openingstherethrough which connect piston, and means for of the trunk piston twocylinders when said piston is at the inner end of its stroke. 10. In aninternal combustion engine, the I l the opening through the tubularcrank shaft with the crank case, means controlled by one of the pistonsfor connecting the crank case with the charging Ilinder, means forconnecting the charging cylinder with the power cylinder, and a,carburetor communicating with the open end of the shaft. 3 12. in aninternal eomlmstion engine, the combination of a power cylimler, apiston therein an annular charging cylinder concertrir With the power cyler, an annular l piston in the ch;rgini cylinder-r, a tubular l ssal'thaving opposed cranks. means con- I necling; the era to the pistons, acrank case. said cranks inning an opening there- Q through connv iingg;the opening through the tubular crank shaft to the crank case, means i ri l l l c ntrol led by the power piston for connectim: the crank use tothe charging cylinder, means for connecting the charging cylnder to thepower cylinder: and a carburcter for supp ying combustible to theopening through the crank shaft.

in witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this Slh day of October,1910.

lVitnesses; I

IlELEN (harem), Tnoaus N. NooNAN.

